Elizaveta
by PreussensAdler
Summary: AU version of Krambambuli, probably loaded with gramma mistakes.  OS.


Elizaveta

Based on: Krambambuli (1883)

Story by: Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

Characters by: Hidekaz Himaruya

AU-Version by: me :P

It was cold. It had been snowing all day. Everyone who could was sitting in front of their fire place.

But three people could be seen walking through the snow.

Head forester Friedrich Beilschmidt and his nephews Gilbert and Ludwig. They were on their way to the cemetery, on which Friedrich's daughter, Gilbert´s and Ludwig´s mother, was buried.

She died 4 years ago, at Ludwig´s birth. Gilbert was 1 back then, so he couldn´t remember her.

They are visiting her grave every year. Friedrich, Gilbert, Ludwig and the brother´s father. But he was in Austria right now, fighting the Austrians for Prussia.

"Old Fritz! Grandpa! Over here, hurry!" Gilbert shouted.

"Yes, Gilbert. But I´m an old man, let me rest."

"No, it's just around this corner!" Gilbert said, taking Ludwig by his hand and dashing around that corner.

As soon as he could see around that corner, he stopped abruptly.

A few feet ahead, just in front of the entrance of the cemetery, stood a man. But he was not alone.

In front of him, in the snow, lay a small child.

He was hitting it over and over again.

"You little worm! It´s all your fault! This will teach you...!"

Neither Gilbert nor Ludwig could move. They just stood there, not believing their eyes.

Their bodies wouldn´t move, like their was some kind of spell on them.

"So, Red, you are still around?"

Friedrich´s voice freed both Gilbert and Ludwig. They hid behind Friedrich.

The man had stopped to hit that child. Friedrich hat his attention now.

"You...!"

"Leave at once and I will spare your life." Friedrich said calmly, aiming his rifle at him.

The man only had a wooden staff. He had to retreat, which seemed to anger him.

"I will return. You won´t be alive forever, Friedrich!"

He said.

"Grandpa, who was that?" Ludwig asked, but Friedrich was already on his way to that child.

"Gilbert, go back to the village and tell the doctor to come to our house!" he ordered.

Gilbert´s questioning lock was hard to miss out, but he said nothing an ran all the way back.

* * *

That child was a girl named Elizaveta,

The man was her father. He is know as "the Red" and is and infamous poacher and smuggler. Everyone, even Old Fritz failed to locate his hideout, but Elizaveta let something slip out. They had to flee, and the Red beat up Elizaveta.

The first days were hard. She never talked to one of their saviors. She was crying when nobody was around and always said "Father... forgive me! Please...! Father!"

She refused to eat, and Gilbert got really angry about all of this.

"She should be thankful, right Ludwig? Old Fritz saved her from her father and even lets her stay here.!"

Ludwig just nodded.

* * *

Everything changed when Mr Beilschmidt returned. He was a nice man, but very strict.

"If she is living in this house, she will have to work in this house" he said.

Now all three had to clean the rooms or do whatever had to be done.

Ironically, this work helped them to become friends.

In 1870 Mr Beilschmidt went to war again.

He never returned.

It is 1885 now,

Old Fritz died 2 years ago. Ludwig became the next head forester. Gilbert married Elizaveta and became a forester, too.

Elizaveta was a real beauty now.

Everyone said that.

One day the count came and wanted to marry Elizaveta.

Gilbert said:

"Fine you can have her. But only if you can maker her cook for you."

The count took her to his castle.

She not only refused to cook, but also to eat.

After one week, she was sent back to Gilbert, and looked horrible,

But everything went smoothly from now on, until that day.

In fall, 1885, a group of poachers appeared and caused serious damage to the woods and the creatures living in them.

The foresters had to take drastic measures.

When Ludwig was on patrol, he beat up a group of women.

One of those women was the Reds wife.

2 days later Gilbert wanted to visit his brother.

He found him dead laying in his bed.

Mr Beilschmidt´s breech-loader, which now belonged to Ludwig, was stolen.

Now it was Gilbert´s turn to hunt The Red.

When Gilbert and Elizaveta were taking a walk through the forest, they found him.

Everything happened really fast

He was aiming at Gilbert.

Gilbert was aiming at him.

The Red was using the breech-loader, which marked him as the murderer.

But Gilbert was confident. He had Elizaveta with him.

"Elizaveta..." Gilbert started, but the Red interrupted him.

"Elizaveta, come here! At once!" He shouted.

"Elizaveta!" Gilbert said

"Elizaveta!"The red said.

Elizaveta started crying.

She couldn´t decide what to do.

Despite everything that happened, she still loved her father.

But she loved Gilbert, too.

Finally she made up her mind and went over to

her father.

The Red smiled at her, and Elizaveta started to think that she had chosen right. When she was young, she did everything to make her father happy, to make him proud, to make him smile. And now shie finally did that.

She started smiling,too.

"Fath-"

**BANG**

She had just reached her fathers side, when he was shot by her husband.

Elizaveta couldn´t beleive it. She hoped he would return for all those years.

She betrayed her husband for him, and now everything was over? She only received those short seconds of her father´s smile for everything?

Elizaveta fell to her knees, and started crying.

Gilbert had used the fact that the Red was distracted by Elizaveta and shot immediately.

He picked up the breech-loader and aimed it at the crying Elizaveta. He couldn´t beleive it.

After everything they have been through together? Those years when there where only him, Elizaveta, Ludwig and Old Fritz?

Those where wonderful time!

And because of that wonderful time he couldn´t kill Elizaveta,

He just couldn´t.

He shouldered his rifle and returned home, leaving Elizaveta behind alone.

Elizaveta was all alone now

She had to start to beg. At first, she was still beautyful, so the people gave her money.

But after 3 weeks, she looked horrible again.

She had nothing to eat, and left the village,

Gilbert had problems to leep well since that day.

One night, when hecouldn´t sleep again, he thought he had seen Elizaveta on the hill 300 meters ahead.

He was still angry, so he didn´t bother to take a look.

It was winter now.

6:00 in the morning.

Gilbert stepped out of his door.

No, he stumbled out of his door, because right in front of it, there lay someone.

It was Elizaveta.

She had been wandering aroun his house for some time now, but she still was aware of her betrayal. She didn´t dare to knock on his door, and her life ended here.

Yay, I hate my style of writing O.o

The idea for this conversion has been on my mind for some time now.

In the original story, Krambambuli is a dog.

The red (or in the original story, the Yellow) owns that dog, and Forester Hopp (Gilbert, Friedrich) buys it from him.

The rest happend more or less like it´s written here. 

I


End file.
